Dry July started as a friendly bet between a few mates; whoever went the longest without drinking alcohol would win. That bet has led to the formation of the not-for-profit organisation Dry July, with people both nationally and internationally taking part to raise millions of dollars to support networks for adult cancer patients and their families.
But there’s a secondary purpose to the campaign; to increase awareness of our individual drinking habits and that we need to adopt a healthy attitude toward alcohol.
Dry July offers you a reason not to drink for a month (a difficult task for some). What about August, September and other months of the year? Perhaps the following can help us to consider having alcohol free days, weeks or even years!
- Many alcoholic drinks are high in empty kilojoules (no nutritional value), which can lead to weight gain.
- The short term effects of drinking too much are hangovers, nausea, shakiness, vomiting, and memory loss, risk of falls and injury, assaults, car accidents, unprotected sex.
- The long-term effects of drinking too much are liver disease, certain types of cancers including cancers of the mouth, throat, liver and stomach. Alcohol also contributes to long-term heart damage, elevated blood pressure levels, and has been linked to some types of cardiac failure and stroke.
What is too much alcohol? You might be surprised!
For healthy men and women, drinking no more than two standard drinks on any day reduces the lifetime risk of harm from alcohol-related disease or injury.
Go to the Alcohol Think Again website to assess if you’re drinking habits are putting you at risk and also find tips for staying low risk.